An Old-Fashioned Tile-Laying
Back in the day people came together to help one another regularly. Quilting bees, barn raising, etc were not only community work projects, but also social events. In the book series, Little House on the Prairie, Charles Ingalls helps his neighbors and in return his neighbors help him build a house, dig a water well, etc. The Amish also intrigue me, and I understand that this way of life is still the norm in their society. But has it been lost in today’s mainstream society?
My husband spreading thin-set on the floor.
When Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf Coast last September, our home as far from the Bolivar Peninsula as it is sustained water damage from the wind-driven rain. What a mess the water created during the hurricane! We spent hours with towels, buckets, bowls, and leather shammies trying to defend our home from the assault of Ike. We ended up having to rip up the linoleum and carpet in our master bedroom. Some sheet rock had to be replaced, including seams. Therefore, we had to repaint. This is just our bedroom and bathroom. Our kitchen and guest bathroom also had water damage.
Ten months later our sheet rock has been replaced, Lane taped and floated the seams, and he textured the ceiling and walls. My daughter, Kyla and I painted until we could not paint anymore. The walls and trim look so fresh and renewed! Now I am happy to report we finally got our floor laid with the help of my brother’s family. My brother, his wife, and their infant son devoted an entire Saturday to help us tile our bedroom floor.
My brother checking his cutting ability. He is right on.
Any project this big is daunting. It has so many steps that you can easily feel overwhelmed. Having someone offer to help you helps ease that feeling. The job does not seem so enormous. Taking it one step at a time also helps. We are indebted to my brother and his family for their expertise, free labor, and moral support.
My dad decided that he would cook for us so that we would not have to worry about feeding anyone. He smoked a wild hog ham, ribs, and a beef brisket. My step-mom prepared baked beans and potato salad. We had a feast after laying the tile in my bedroom. So as in times past, a work project turned into a social event. The whole day was so nice. I was completely exhausted, but excited about the home improvements and progress we made. Most importantly, I am grateful for the family I have.
The whole day made me reflect on the past and how for the most part our society might not be such a community anymore. Our family and friends live in all parts of the world tied together by technology. We are busy people focused on our own needs and problems. If you long for a sense of community, then ask yourself, how many of you know all of your neighbors? Do you wait to be asked for help before offering it? Do you need to reciprocate a favor? When is the last time you shared a meal and good conversation with a group of people other than your immediate family?
If you are blessed to already have a community of friends, family, and neighbors, be thankful. If not, its not too late to develop a community in your neck of the woods. Be a good neighbor and friend. You never know when you might need them. After all, it is still hurricane season. 
We are such a mobile society now that we often don’t know our neighbors. In the process of becoming mobile we have lost many treasures: cooperation, civility, and the love of neighbor as ourselves. The Amish have it right.
[...] do it, but my brother came and helped us lay the tile in our bedroom. I wrote about it in “An Old-Fashioned Tile-Laying.” Now armed with just enough knowledge to get the job done, we are ready to get to work. [...]